The number of high income earners in Spain, whose assets exceed €30 million, has grown by 23.9% in the last five years, according to 2015 figures released this week by the Spanish tax agency.

Spain started to recover from the economic crash five years ago and has made steady progress over the past year with the country recovering at a rate much faster than many of its EU counterparts. However on a more personal level, financial situations have improved faster for those in high-income brackets than those who are not.

In the last two fiscal years, the super-rich have seen their large fortunes grow by an annual rate of 8%. Only 549 taxpayers in Spain declared assets worth over €30 million, reports Spanish newspaper El Pais.

People who earn €700,000 and over are obliged to complete a wealth tax return (impuesto del patrimonio). This takes into account the value of assets excluding mortgages and loans and the value of a primary property (valued up to €300,000).

In 2015, 188,680 taxpayers filed a wealth tax return and 57,218 people declared a taxable wealth of over €1.5 million, a growth of 10% on five years previous.

The combined value of assets of people declaring wealth tax amounts to €582.6 billion, representing nearly 50% of Spain’s GDP. Most of these assets are tied up in shares and financial investments, but real estate accounted for the majority of wealth holdings, amounting to €102.6 billion.